


a series of unfortunate deals with the devil

by Chimera Manticore (chimeramanticore)



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Julian Devorak's Route
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 07:44:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19127632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chimeramanticore/pseuds/Chimera%20Manticore
Summary: I wanted to write about Julian post-selling his soul to the Devil but pre-MC finding him in the Hanged Raven. He talked about a lot of things in the route that I wanted to explore so here it is! fair warning, idk if I'll ever actually finish this but here's fuckin hoping (TWs in the notes)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> \- I'm not sure how to actually tag trigger warnings for this bc I can't think of any off the top of my head but basically if you don't want to read a multichapter fic that's basically just Julian being really sad over a lot of things then maybe dont read this
> 
> \- theres a lot of dealing with the illusions the Devil sent him, descriptions of body horror (except it's not that bad bc I'm bad at writing that) and a lot of abusive/gaslighting behavior from the Devil
> 
> \- also theres some light NSFW in a later chapter so do with that what you will
> 
> \- also I used my MC's name Izaiah (pronounced iz-EYE-ah) bc fuck you I do what I want

Julian Devorak laid on his side on the cold stone floor, struggling to stay conscious. It had been… who knows how long since he’d struck his deal with the Devil. He had become restless, anxious, angry with his situation. He  _ needed  _ a way out. He needed to see Izaiah again. The only way he knew how to do that was to defeat the Devil and unbind himself.

 

But he had lost.

 

So Julian laid there, beaten within an inch of his life, too tired to even cry as the Devil approached him.

 

“That was pathetic, even for you,” he heard him say. “You really are nothing without that magician of yours, aren’t you?”

 

Julian groaned, trying to roll over onto his back and failing. The Devil watched him for a second before moving to an angle where Julian could see him better.

 

“I'll make you a deal,” he continued. “I'll let you live. I'll heal your wounds and let you go running back to your little tavern. You can live there in blissful ignorance and complacency like you're meant to.” He spat out the last two words. “I can't believe you. I give you everything a sad drunkard like you could want, and this is how you repay me?”

 

“What do you want?” Julian grumbled.

 

“Nothing too expensive,” the Devil replied. “I just want… hm, a little bit of your humanity.”

 

“You already have my soul.”

 

“This is something entirely different. Though I don't expect you to understand. You never notice what you have until it's gone, do you?” The Devil crouched down- almost perfectly eye level with Julian now- and held out a hand. “Now, do we have a deal?”

 

Julian eyed him warily. He knew the Devil couldn't be trusted, but… he also couldn't tell a lie. He  _ would _ be safe. He  _ would _ go back to the Hanged Raven. But…

 

“My arm is getting sore, Julian,” the Devil said, shaking him out of his thoughts. “What more could you want from me?”

 

“...I want to see Izaiah again,” Julian said.

 

The Devil paused, and for the first time since he'd been brought here, Julian saw the Devil look surprised. The only other one who could make him look surprised was Izaiah.

 

After a moment more of consideration, the Devil said, “You will see Izaiah again. Whenever you want to see them, you will. Do we have a deal, Julian?”

 

Something deep inside of Julian was still afraid. Something didn't want him to accept the Devil's offer. Maybe he just didn't notice it. But he knew the Devil could kill him right then and there if he really wanted to, and he knew all the benefits…

 

Julian took the Devil's hand.

 

“Deal.”

 

He saw the Devil smile, a sickening grin that would make anyone’s stomach turn. Then he blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he was standing outside the Hanged Raven.

 

Julian examined himself. He wasn't sore, and all the places he had been bleeding before were fine now. His nose had even become unbroken. He was fine.

 

But as Julian took a step toward the entrance of the tavern, a sudden pain seized his back- no, his spine. He cried out, doubling over and falling to his knees. His back arched involuntarily as he felt his spine begin to lengthen. Whether he was somehow growing new bones or if his old ones were simply lengthening didn't matter- the pain was all too strong for him to even care. Julian’s hands were on the ground, digging at fistfuls of dirt to maybe distract himself. The stretching pain began to shift downwards, toward his legs. He felt those start to get longer, too-

 

But then it stopped.

 

As quickly as it came, all of the pain was gone. Julian stayed kneeling for a while longer, trembling slightly, prepared for any other surprises. When he realized none were coming, he let himself relax, resting his head on the ground. He sighed before deciding to try and stand.

 

His legs shook as he straightened up, and his back was stiff- he wobbled just a little before becoming steady. He was taller, and he noticed it immediately. He felt almost a foot taller than he was just five minutes ago.

 

“What did I sign myself up for…?” he muttered to himself as he stumbled his way into the Hanged Raven. He didn't know what it meant to lose his humanity, but if this was as bad as it would get, he figured he would be able to deal with being a little taller. So Julian sat down at his table again, and signaled the nonexistent bartender for a drink.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> today on 'julian fucks up':

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest I wrote this thing intending for it to be one chapter but then it got WAY too long for that so I sectioned it up into chapters but I didn't exactly make them even so wHOOPS
> 
> just bear with me here on this I swear this is a good fanfic I'm a good writer I promise you just have t

Time passed strangely in this realm, if at all. The sky seemed to perpetually be at late sunset, and Julian never recalled seeing any clocks around the tavern. Measuring time seemed impossible, and in most cases, just unnecessary. Of course, that didn't stop him from trying. Julian measured his days in meals and in sleep: three meals and one rest every day. He knew it was by no means accurate to the regular 24 hour system, but it was good enough, damn it.

 

By Julian's clock, it took the Devil three days to fulfill his other half of the bargain.

 

He was just waking up for the day, his eyes opening slowly and groggily. He shouldn't have drank as much as he did yesterday, he noted. But as he came to his senses more, he realized there was another figure at the table. Sitting across from him was-

 

“Izaiah?” Julian said, sitting up straight. “Is that… is it really you?”

 

“Julian,” they said. “You look… different.”

 

“I-I know. I made some decisions I'm not entirely proud of, but-”

 

“You look  _ terrible _ .”

 

Julian froze.

 

“Wh...what?” he said.

 

“You heard me,” Izaiah said, standing now. “You've changed. You're a monster.”

 

“I'm-! No, I'm not!” Julian asserted, standing with Izaiah. He towered over them now, his head almost reaching the ceiling. He saw his shadow looming over them, and for a second, he was scared of himself.

 

“Looking for you was a waste of my time,” Izaiah said. “I should’ve given up on you a long time ago.” They began to move toward the door to leave.

 

“I-Izaiah, wait!” Julian said. “Please don’t go!” In a moment of panic, he ran to catch up with them, grabbing their arm- only for it to pass straight through. Izaiah stopped moving, only turning to look at Julian, shocked. Julian stared back, just as surprised.

 

“You… you’re not real,” Julian realized, “are you?” He looked down at their arm where he had touched them, watching its changing transparency as it phased in and out of the realm.

 

“I, uh,” Izaiah started, before giving up and starting to fade completely.

 

“No!” Julian shouted. “No! Who are you? What are you? Why are you here? Why did you…” He swiped once more at them, fingers grazing what should have been their face just as they disappeared totally from view. Julian groaned, frustrated, his hands balling into fists. The Devil had sent an illusion. That’s all it was. All it was was a fake image meant to torment him. And it just wasn’t  _ fair. _

 

Julian sighed, his anger leaving behind only sadness now. He sat down at his table again. None of this was  _ fair, _ was it? The Devil never played  _ fair. _ He should know that. It would never be  _ fair.  _ That sentiment could only repeat itself throughout the rest of his day.

 

Time passed in the realm- or at least, as far as anyone was keeping track. Julian started to keep track of days. He would carve another  _ X  _ into the table for every sleep he completed. It took him about 45  _ X _ ’s for him to decide he was restless again. That he needed a way out. That he needed to try fighting again.

 

This time would be different, he told himself as he began his trip to the Devil’s realm. This time, he would be better.

 

And he actually  _ was _ better. Until he lost an eye.

 

One swipe from the Devil’s claws was all it took. One slash, and a searing pain in Julian’s right eye. He stumbled backwards, feeling the blood start to run down his face, and he reached up to touch it- Just enough time for the Devil to grab him by the collar and slam him into the ground, knocking the wind out of him entirely. He could have sworn he heard the crunch of a few ribs breaking as the Devil pressed a hoof to his chest to keep him pinned to the ground.

 

Julian, in a fit of anger and panic, writhed around on the floor, clawing at the Devil’s leg. A desperate attempt to either escape or try to hurt him more.

 

“No!” he screamed. “No! I'll kill you!  _ I'll kill you!” _ The Devil sighed.

 

“Are you quite done?” He said, short of rolling his eyes.

 

Julian, realizing he was powerless here, slowed his movements. He choked out a sob, lying limp on the floor and giving himself up to the Devil’s mercy.

 

“Good,” the Devil said. “Now that you're… somewhat calmer.” He lifted his leg off of Julian, knowing he was unable to fight back at this point. “Let’s have a chat, Julian.”

 

Julian ignored him, eyes closed while he cried gently.

 

The Devil sat down next to Julian. “What possessed you to think this was okay?” he asked.

 

“You… you tricked me,” Julian spat. “You  _ bastard. _ ”

 

The Devil ignored him. “I can give you another chance,” he said. “Despite your utter disrespect, I find some semblance of admiration for you. Your drive, your passion… We're not so different, I think.”

 

“Fuck you,” Julian said.

 

The Devil ignored him again. “You see, when we want something, Julian, we stop at nothing to have it. No one can get in our way. We refuse to let anyone stop us. But that’s where I’m afraid the similarities end. When I want something, I really am unstoppable. You, on the other hand…” He smiled to himself, relishing in the irony of it all. “How amusing. You get stopped by me. And you will continue to be stopped by me. Are you listening, Julian?”

 

Julian had stopped crying now. He was staring up at the sky blankly. The Devil leaned in close, speaking calmly but firmly into Julian’s ear.

 

“I want you to understand something,” he said. “You are a human. You are mortal. You are  _ powerless. _ But your kind… the kind that think they mean something to the world? Are the most bothersome. Your ignorance will get you nowhere. I am giving you a chance here, Julian. Turn me down, and I will crush you and forget your puny, insignificant little existence  _ ever  _ happened. But accept my deal… and we can both forget that this little incident happened. Does that sound good to you?”

 

Julian coughed, still staring at the sky. He thought about it for a minute.

 

“What do you want?” he asked hesitantly.

 

“I think our deal last time went very well,” the Devil said, sitting up straight again. “Your transformation was very… let's say interesting. But I would love to see more. This could get even more interesting, don't you think?” Julian vaguely remembered the night on the aqueduct with Izaiah-  _ ‘This could get interesting,’ _ he had said.

 

“You want me to be your guinea pig,” Julian remarked.

 

“A small price to pay for your life, I would think.”

 

Julian sighed. He had no choice.

 

“Do we have a deal?” The Devil asked, extending his hand. Julian reached out and took it, willing himself not to look.

 

“Deal,” he said.

 

And when he opened his eyes, he was standing outside the Hanged Raven again.


	3. Chapter 3

Julian sighed shakily, moving to a nearby tree and sitting down underneath. He touched around his eye gingerly. It was completely healed- save for the red sclera the plague had left him with. He felt around his chest, finding all of his ribs intact as well. He was okay. Right?

 

As he sat there, Julian became increasingly more aware of a dull pain in his legs and his forearms. It almost felt like growing pains, that strange ache. But the pain began to swell, bit by bit, and Julian felt a strange pressure on his legs. He sat there, watching himself in paralyzed fear as his legs suddenly, with a sharp  _ crack _ , inverted. No, not inverted… what the hell was happening? He looked back at his arms to find both his arms and his fingernails having lengthened, and the skin beginning to turn black, his nails sharpening and turning into what looked more like claws. He couldn't move, he didn't trust his legs. But in that moment, he had never wanted to run away more in his life.

 

And then the pain stopped.

 

Julian paused, scanning himself over. He brushed a finger over his forearm, where the skin had turned black. It was coarse. He sighed again, unhappy, before turning to his legs. It looked like he had somehow gained a new pair of joints there, turning them into something more… digitigrade, for lack of a better word. Along with that, he noticed the same blackening skin from the shins down. He felt wrong. He felt animalistic. He felt terrible.

 

But he had to try to stand anyway. So, leaning against the tree as support, Julian found his way to his feet. He swayed more than a little, but eventually found his footing. And slowly but surely, he made his way into the Hanged Raven. 

 

He entered the tavern to find Izaiah already waiting for him.

 

“Julian,” they said.

 

“I-Izaiah,” Julian said back, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. “I, uh…”

 

“You look different,” Izaiah remarked.

 

“I… I know.” He didn't want them to leave again. He had to try something different. “Hey- Why don't you stay for a while?” He asked. “We can have a drink or two.”

 

“I can’t drink,” they told him.

 

“Ah.” Of course. They weren't real.

 

“I can still stay,” they offered.

 

“That sounds… that actually sounds great,” he said, and sat down across from them. He summoned a drink for the two of them: salty bitters. He knew the Not-Izaiah couldn’t drink, but it comforted him somewhat to know they were well supplied should the rules change part way through their conversation.

 

“So you’re not real?” Julian asked, trying to spark some sort of talking topic.

 

“It depends on how you define ‘real’,” they replied. “I’m not your Izaiah. But the Devil created me to be a version of Izaiah.”

 

“The Devil created you?”

 

“You said you wanted to see Izaiah again,” they explained. “Here I am.”

 

Julian swallowed, his throat somehow dry despite chugging down a salty bitters just a minute ago. “That cheating bastard,” he hissed.

 

“What did you expect? That he’d play fair?”

 

“No.” He had to admit that much to himself. “So, wait. The Devil made you. Are you… alive? Are you sentient?”

 

“Sentient?”

 

“Like, do you have feelings? Are you a person or is the Devil just talking through you?”   
  


“Ah, well… He does give us a script of sorts. Whether I follow it completely is up to me. I only exist long enough to complete my task. When I leave this realm, I leave this existence for good.”

 

Julian refilled his drink. “So your life is just… to come here, mess with my head, and then die.”

 

“Pretty much, yes.”

 

“Isn’t that kind of scary?” He asked, sipping from his tankard.

 

“I don’t live long enough to comprehend ‘scary’,” they told him. “You, though…” They stood, moving closer to Julian. “We all get a certain ability to know how you’re feeling,” they said. “You’re scared. More scared than you've ever been.” They placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“You're scared of me,” they continued. “You're scared of the Devil. You're scared of yourself. You're scared of what you're becoming. You feel like everything is your fault.”

 

“S… stop that,” Julian said, trying to brush their hand away. They only held onto him tighter.

 

“You keep worrying about Izaiah,” they said. They stared blankly at him, eyes glazed as if they were literally reading his thoughts. “You're scared they'll show up for real someday and see you like this. But, Julian… they're not coming. They’re never coming.”

 

“Stop,” Julian repeated, more forceful this time. They ignored him.

 

“Why do you keep trying to fight?” They asked. “You're only hurting yourself. You're losing all of yourself. You know you are. You're scared of that too. Why can't you just stay here? Wasn't that the deal?”

 

“Izaiah-”

 

“Just stop trying, Julian. Just stop trying.”

 

“God, shut up!” Julian snapped, trying once again to get them to stop touching him. He swiped at them, and without even realizing, he had cut three large gashes in their throat with his new talons.

 

Izaiah let go.

 

The blood leaking from their neck was… barely blood at all. It was dark, black, and viscous. It looked almost more like tar.

 

“Izaiah, I-”

 

“Don’t,” they said. “Don’t… don't…”

 

“Izaiah…?” He leaned forward, reaching up to touch their face. Izaiah seemed to collapse into Julian, resting their head on his shoulder. He felt the strange ooze on his neck- it was much warmer than blood should have been.

 

“Julian,” they said quietly. It sounded like it took a lot out of them just to speak. “Don't… don't fight… Just st-stay here.”

 

Julian looked down. They were beginning to fade from the realm.

 

“It's-” They continued. “It's too much… trouble. He'll… kill you… one... way… or…”

 

Izaiah went silent. Julian held them there for a moment longer before they disappeared completely, only leaving behind their blood still splattered on Julian's neck.


End file.
